Mounts Winners in Section 2

The final out of the Lancaster- Lebanon League baseball regular season and the final piece of the league’s playoff puzzle were delivered by Ephrata and its freshman pitcher Camryn Simes on Monday.

Simes threw a two-hit shutout as the Mounts edged Elizabethtown 1-0 to lock up the L-L Section Two title under the lights at War Memorial Field.

The Bears (13-7 overall, 9-6 in the section) had reeled off seven straight late-season wins to make Section Two a three-team pennant race, but are out of the league playoffs with the loss, coupled with section runner-up Lampeter-Strasburg’s 7-1 defeat of Cones-toga Valley on Monday.

The L-L playoff quarterfinals are now set for Thursday at the home fields of the four section champs: Donegal (13-7, 105) at Ephrata (16-4, 12-3); Warwick (10-9, 9-6) at Lancaster Catholic; L-S (14-6, 11-4) at Manheim Central (14-6, 12-3); and Northern Lebanon (14-6, 10-5) at Hempfield (16-4, 13-2).

The semifinals are Saturday at Ephrata (10 a.m., 1 p.m.) and the final is 7 p.m. Monday at Clipper Magazine Stadium.

Ephrata reached the league playoff final and the second round of the state playoffs a year ago with a young team. This year, they’re senior-oriented but reliant on three freshmen, Simes and infielders Chase Prange and Landry Weidner.

“First, you have to assimilate them into a culture where, number one, they’re accepted,’’ coach Adrian Shelley said of the young guys. “And, they have to understand that there’s no hierarchy among the players. And the second thing is you’ve got to bust their tails.’’

“I just rely on my team,’’ Simes said. “If I don’t have my best stuff or I’m too nervous, I’m shaking out there, I know my teammates have my back and we can get through it.’’

E-town pitcher Isaiah Shyter was just as good, and in fact was lights-out dominant over the final 18 outs. It was his first start in nearly two weeks and it took him an inning to settle in.

In the Ephrata first, Coy Schwanger singled, went to second on a passed ball, stole third and scored on Drew Hurst’s RBI grounder.

That was it for scoring, but Shyter then hit a guy before getting through the first, and walked the bases loaded to start the second.

Then he slammed the door shut hard, showcasing electric stuff and mowing down 15 in a row, allowing no more baserunners. He finished with an eight-strikeout one-hitter.

That one hit was barely enough.

“You’d think I’d be used to this by now,’’ sighed Shelley, meaning that he’ll never be used to it, happily, and referring to section titles, of which this is Ephrata’s 16th, but first since 2018.

“We just played seven games in 10 days. Trust me, tomorrow and Wednesday will be a nice little respite.’’

Lampeter-Strasburg 7, Conestoga Valley 1: The Pioneers exploded for six runs in the fifth inning to keep their section title hopes alive at least for a couple hours, until Ephrata won its game. Had both clubs finished at 11-4, L-S would have won the head-to-head tiebreaker.

The Pioneers got very solid pitching from Jason Long, who went six innings, allowed two hits and struck out six. Peyton Harsh led the offense, going 3-for-4 with a run and RBI. Will Bailey was 2-for-3, and Luke Brenneman went 1-for-3 and drove in two.

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